Despite Ban, Muslim Brotherhood Organization Protests

May 4, 2005

Source: Yahoo! News

Wire Service: AP

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050505/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_protests;_ylt=Aq86WMHhBjOPzy3aTtLY.HpvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

On May 4, 2005 the Associated Press reported, "Thousands of supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest Islamic group, protested across the country Wednesday in an escalation of the opposition campaign demanding political reform. Police arrested hundreds of protesters. More than 2,500 Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters demonstrator in front of a large downtown mosque, some waving copies of the Quran and chanting, 'Reform is a religious necessity, reform is Prophet's way.' One of the banners read, 'Freedom is a religious duty.' The protests — held on the 77th birthday of President Hosni Mubarak — were the latest show of strength by the Brotherhood, which is probably Egypt's largest opposition movement but for years held few large demonstrations to avoid provoking the government. In recent months it has organized repeated demonstrations, joining other groups in an unprecedented string of protests against Mubarak. The protests have brought arrests of scores of Brotherhood members in past weeks, though some have since been released."